Pete Hammond’s Final Oscar Predictions In Every Category

Editors note: This story originally was published February 23, 2017. According to La La Land’s opening song, “It’s just another day of sun” in Los Angeles. And for the 14-time-nominated musical, the Oscars might be “just another award” to win on what we actually hear is going to be just another day of rain. But will Oscar also rain on La La Land’s impressive record this awards season or will it continue its reign? So far it has swept just about every major precursor honor there is, and in very convincing style. But the Oscar isn’t just another award, and this solid front-runner will have to avoid the curse of being the one to beat.

As I have often said, predicting the Oscars can be a fool’s errand, and this year the strategy I offer is simple: For your Oscar pool, you can either decide that enough voters are enamored with Damien Chazelle’s tuneful bittersweet romance and ode to the City of Angels that they just check it off in every category. Or, perhaps they feel it has already gotten too much and want to spread the wealth.

Reliable indicators are all over the map. The Golden Globes and Critics’ Choice Awards offered virtual sweeps. BAFTA, though giving it Best Picture and four other awards, really split its prizes in many categories among several films. On the other hand, the guilds, which because of heavy overlapping membership with the Academy are usually reliable harbingers of things to come, have signaled a sweep could be in order as La La Land has scored numerous victories including at the PGAs , DGAs and many below-the-line ceremonies.

REX/Shutterstock

We haven’t had a major sweep in awhile. You may recall last year’s Best Picture winner Spotlight pulled off winning Oscar’s biggest prize while taking just one other award (Original Screenplay). It was Mad Max: Fury Road that pulled off the mini-sweep (though only in technical categories) before coming to a screeching halt when the big awards were announced. Before that, both Argo and 12 Years A Slave took the Best Picture prize with only two other category wins. Slumdog Millionaire in 2008 was the last to score a sizable sweep, taking eight Oscars.

Some are wondering whether La La Land on Sunday mightchallenge the all-time record which is 11 Oscars (for 1959’s Ben-Hur, 1997’s Titanic, and 2003’s The Lord Of The Rings: Return Of The King). It is already in the record books with its 14 nominations, equaling Titanic and 1950’s All About Eve. West Side Story in 1961holds the record for a musical with 10 competitive Oscars.

It is a quandary to try and see which way the Oscar winds might be blowing this year, but here goes my best assessment of the Best Picture race, along with every other category. For those of you who saw the first draft of these predictions in our AwardsLine print issue, you will recall I put a strong warning that these predix were subject to change since there were still a lot of indicators still to come when the deadline for that piece arrived. Now here are my final FINAL Oscar winner predictions for the 89th annual Academy Awards on Sunday.

If you use any or all of these to enter an Oscar pool don’t blame me if you lose. This is all a crapshoot.

BEST PICTURE

The nominees are:

Paramount Pictures

Arrival

DirectorDenis Villeneuve

WritersEric Heisserer
Ted Chiang (short story)

ProducersShawn Levy
Dan Levine
Aaron Ryder
David Linde

StudioParamount Pictures

Oscar NominationsBest Director
Best Adapted Screenplay
Best Cinematography
Best Film Editing
Best Sound Mixing
Best Sound Editing
Best Production Design

This smart sci-fi drama takes the well-worn alien genre and turns it into a fascinating story dealing with life, death, loss, communication and a woman played by Amy Adams who goes deep in trying discover the mysteries of her own life as she encounters beings from another planet. With eight nominations, including one for director Denis Villeneuve, this stunning film has production values for days, but is a long shot to take the big prize.

Denzel Washington’s faithful adaptation of the August Wilson play is the kind of Broadway transfer from stage to screen studios used to do all the time, but rarely try anymore. Its success is heartening, and the idea of taking virtually the entire cast from the 2010 revival that starred Washington and Viola Davis is something that should play well with voters from the actors branch, the largest in the Academy. Still, this one is far more likely to score in acting categories than this category, where its lack of a directing nomination for Washington doesn’t help its chances to pull an upset.

Hacksaw Ridge

Lionsgate

DirectorMel Gibson

WritersRobert Schenkkan
Andrew Knight

ProducersBill Mechanic
David Permut

StudioLionsgate

Oscar NominationsBest Actor
Best Director
Best Editing
Best Sound Mixing
Best Sound Editing

Mel Gibson’s comeback triumph is a powerful and emotional World War II drama that celebrates the indefatigable human spirit. The true story of conscientious objector and Medal of Honor winner Desmond Doss is one that was made for the movies, and Gibson’s efforts behind the camera show what a brilliant filmmaker he is. It has its supporters, but its best shot at a victory would be in the sound and editing categories, where this re-creation of one of WWII’s bloodiest battles is simply riveting.

Hell Or High Water

CBS Films

DirectorDavid Mackenzie

WriterTaylor Sheridan

ProducersCarla Hacken
Julie Yorn

StudioLionsgate/CBS Films

Oscar NominationsBest Supporting Actor
Best Original Screenplay
Best Editing

The title says it all. This is a hell of a story and a high-water mark for the season. I have been captivated by this smart crime drama ever since seeing it at Cannes in May, and since then it has oddly become more pertinent and politically potent as events have unfolded in real life. It is that miracle of a movie that entertains while having something to say, a real keeper. The lack of what certainly would have been a well-deserved directing nomination for David MacKenzie, though, probably means this film is somewhere back in the pack, and unlikely to shock the masses on Oscar night.

This surprise box office smash and beloved true story of three African-American female math whizzes who made a major contribution in the early days of NASA’s space program just might be the most likely to stage a stunner of an upset. Voters love it and might want to reward it. The only problem is it has just an Adapted Screenplay and Supporting Actress (Octavia Spencer) nomination in addition to Best Picture. That doesn’t indicate the kind of widespread support some others have in the Academy, and actually the only category it directly competes with La La Land is, indeed, Best Picture. What an upset that would be, comparable to 1972, when another musical, Cabaret, swept the Oscars with eight awards, only to lose the big one to The Godfather,which only won three.

La La Land

Lionsgate

DirectorDamien Chazelle

WriterDamien Chazelle

ProducersFred Berger
Jordan Horowitz
Marc Platt

StudioLionsgate

Oscar NominationsBest Actor
Best Actress
Best Director
Best Original Screenplay
Best Cinematography
Best Editing
Best Costume Design
Best Original Score
Best Sound Mixing
Best Sound Editing
Best Original Song
Best Original Song
Best Production Design

This has become the 800-pound gorilla in the Oscar race, with significant wins at PGA, DGA, SAG, Golden Globes and Critics’ Choice, as well as being a leading force at BAFTA, and having a record-tying 14 Academy Award nominations. Only two other films, Titanic and All About Eve,have climbed that high, and at this point, barring some sort of catastrophe, the only real question seems to be not if La La Land wins Best Picture, but just how many Oscars it takes before that final envelope is opened. It is La La’sto lose this year, and the only thing perhaps holding it back might be the feeling that the movie isn’t important enough, so maybe the Academy will award the top prize to something a little meatier. Don’t count on it.

Lion

Mark Rogers

DirectorGarth Davis

WritersLuke Davies
Saroo Brierley (book)

ProducersIain Canning
Angie Fielder
Emile Sherman

StudioThe Weinstein Company

Oscar NominationsBest Supporting Actor
Best Supporting Actress
Best Adapted Screenplay
Best Cinematography
Best Original Score

Another emotional, heart-tugging true story, Lion has the advantage of having Harvey Weinstein’s Oscar war machine behind it, and TWC has certainly been working it, with the added plus of sending its delightful young star Sunny Pawar out on the circuit to charm voters. Was its upset win over La La Land, Moonlightand Arrival at the ASC Cinematographers awards a sign of a possible trend in its favor? DGA First-Time Feature winner and nominee Garth Davis wasn’t able to translate that DGA triumph to the Academy’s directors branch, so that hurts the chances here, and it is not likely to prevail.

Oscar NominationsBest Actor
Best Supporting Actor
Best Supporting Actress
Best Director
Best Original Screenplay

This masterful film has been universally praised now for over a year since its Sundance debut. The fact that a dark and often depressing drama is nearing the $50 million box office mark is an encouraging sign, and it has been in all the majors awards contests right up to its six nominations for Oscars, including three in acting, which is important since actors comprise the Academy’s largest branch. Still it largely came up short at the Globes, where only Casey Affleck won, and particularly SAG, where it couldn’t cash in any of its leading four nominations. This looks to be a bridesmaid here, but should factor strongly in other categories.

Oscar NominationsBest Supporting Actor
Best Supporting Actress
Best Director
Best Cinematography
Best Editing
Best Original Score
Best Adapted Screenplay

This little $1.5 million production has taken the industry’s heart by storm and landed a very impressive eight nominations, including, most tellingly, significant mentions in below-the-line categories like Cinematography, Editing and Music, where tiny indie films like this don’t often walk. That’s a sign that it is playing across all branches and could be the sleeper if La La stumbles. The fact that writer-director Barry Jenkins is also the first African-American to have noms for writing, directing and a Best Picture contender might also be a statement on the part of the Academy after two bruising years of #OscarsSoWhite. This is one to watch despite shortcomings at some earlier ceremonies like PGA, DGA, SAG, BAFTA and the Globes, although its weekend win at WGA gave it a shot of adrenaline.

The Winner: LA LA LAND — capping what should be a very big night

BEST ACTOR

Amazon

Manchester By The Sea’sCasey Affleck simply rolled over everyone else in the critics’ awards and at the Globes, but shockingly was stopped by Fences’ Denzel Washington at SAG. It was the first real test of industry sentiment, and it didn’t go Casey’s way. Denzel had a showier role and that might have helped. Since they didn’t face off at BAFTA, where Washington wasn’t nominated (and which Affleck won), the next big showdown between the now two front-runners will be Oscar night, and it might be a nail-biting time. Hacksaw Ridge’s Andrew Garfield is a very long shot, as is Captain Fantastic’sViggo Mortensen (repping that film’s only nomination, but he did get the biggest applause at the Oscar Nominees’ Luncheon). Could Ryan Gosling upset, even though stars of musicals rarely win this one? I have tossed and turned and gone back and forth on this one. Flip a coin.

The Winner: Casey Affleck, Manchester By The Sea

Lionsgate

BEST ACTRESS

La La Land’s Emma Stone won a comedy/musical actress prize at the Globes, and triumphed at SAG and BAFTA, which is enough to make her the odds-on favorite to pull off a rare win in this category for the star of a musical. Natalie Portman’s Jackie had early momentum, but after losses at the Globes, BAFTA and SAG has faded. Meryl Streep’s 2oth nomination for Florence Foster Jenkins is victory enough, as is Ruth Negga’s first, representing the only mention for Loving. Stone’s biggest competition comes from France’s critical darling and Golden Globe winner Isabelle Huppert, but will enough voters actually watch the subtitled Elle?

The Winner:Emma Stone, La La Land — singing and dancing her way to the Dolby stage

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

A24

There is sentiment for seven-time nominee Jeff Bridges, so good in Hell Or High Water, but he won in 2009 for Best Actor. Manchester By The Sea’syoung Lucas Hedges will be back another day, and so will Dev Patel even with that recent BAFTA award as a late-inning boost. Michael Shannon scored a surprise nomination after being snubbed by other groups, but reps Nocturnal Animals’only nod, so that is a large mountain to climb. Even without his stunning SAG acceptance speech, Moonlight’sMahershala Ali was leading this race for a small but significant turn that should pay off Oscar night in a big way.

The Winner: Mahershala Ali, Moonlight — A small role, but his presence was felt for the entire film

Paramount Pictures

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

With a record three black actresses in contention here—Fences’ Viola Davis, Moonlight’s Naomie Harris and Hidden Figures’ Octavia Spencer—this category has already made Oscar history. Past Best Actress winner Nicole Kidman, getting her fourth nomination and first in this category, is touching in Lion, as is Michelle Williams in Manchester By The Sea. They both give strong portrayals of mothers, but Davis’ scorching turn in Fences has them all beat unless voters think she should have been in the Lead Actress category. Unlikely. She is a strong front-runner, whatever the placement.

The Winner:Viola Davis, Fences — her Rose will have an Oscar to put next to that Tony

BEST DIRECTOR

This usually goes with the Best Picture winner, so La La Land’s Damien Chazelle should prevail just for the sheer audacity of trying to do an original screen musical in this day and age, and then pulling it off the way he did. There oddly could be sentiment of some sort for Mel Gibson’s return to good graces with Hacksaw Ridge as well, but not enough. Arrival’s Denis Villeneuve did a tremendous job and will be back. Moonlight’s Barry Jenkins could be a surprise, but like co-nominee Manchester By The Sea’s Kenneth Lonergan is more likely to have a better chance for this script than his helming. Anyway, Chazelle won at the Globes, BAFTA and most importantly, DGA.

The Winner: Damien Chazelle, La La Land — Becoming the youngest winner ever in this category at age 32

A24

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

By all accounts, Barry Jenkins and Tarell Alvin McCraney became the front-runners when the Academy’s writers branch went rogue and placed Moonlight here instead of Original, where WGA had it and gave it a win. That meant runner-up status is almost assured for the other four nominees, which include the late August Wilson for Fences, Luke Davies for Lion, Eric Heisserer for Arrival, and Allison Schroeder and Theodore Melfi for Hidden Figures — although the latter has enormous good will and could be rewarded here if the Academy wants to give that film something. But count on Jenkins and McCraney to make history here becoming the first writers to win at WGA in one screenplay category only to take the Oscar for the same film in another.

The Winner: Moonlight

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

Amazon Studios

Attention should be paid to Taylor Sheridan’s Hell Or High Water, but probably won’t. Mike Mills is also a long shot for his very personal and fine 20th Century Women. A real long shot is Yorgos Lanthimos and Efthymis Filippou’s quirky The Lobster. No, this is a two-horse race at this point between Damien Chazelle’s original musical and Kenneth Lonergan’s highly praised words and silences for Manchester By The Sea, with the latter having won now at BAFTA and WGA gaining the edge for the kind of script that usually wins, making it one to beat here and a way of rewarding the film. No musical has won a screenplay prize since Gigi took Adapted in 1958. Will La La be the first in nearly 60 years?

The Winner: Manchester By The Sea — in a squeaker

REX/Shutterstock

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

Politics and President Donald Trump’s travel ban for Iran and six other terrorist-deemed countries has already claimed a victim here, with nominee Asghar Farhadi saying he won’t be attending on behalf of Iran’s The Salesman. Some voters have already said they will vote for the movie out of protest, but is it the best? It likely would be further down the list, but world events have intervened. Completely deserving are Denmark’s Land Of Mine, Sweden’s delightful A Man Called Ove, Germany’s comedy Toni Erdmann and Australia’s first ever contender Tanna. I have a hunch in the end it won’t be Iran and Farhadi, who is already a past winner here for A Separation, but events could dictate otherwise.

The Winner:A Man Called Ove — and not just because Trump has also recently managed to get Sweden in the news

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM

Walt Disney Animation Studios

Kubo And The Two Strings marks the fourth stop-motion film for Laika and its fourth nomination in this category; not a bad track record. Has the time come for Travis Knight’s Oregon-based animation factory? Or maybe another indie like The Red Turtle, or My Life As A Zucchini? If voters stick to their predictable ways, though, Disney will return to the winners circle with one of its two nominees, either Moana or Zootopia. With the latter having dominated with wins at the Globes, PGA and the Annies, it seems the trend is clear despite its surprising loss to Kubo at BAFTA. It could be close especially with both Kubo and Zootopia spending big at the end.

The Winner: Zootopia

Lionsgate

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

The ASC cinematographers themselves chose Lion, which was a bit of a surprise over Arrival, La La Land, Moonlight and Silence, but could that pattern be repeated here? Unlikely, as Lion’s very specific photographic challenges were easily recognized by the peers at ASC. With the entire Academy voting, I believe they are more likely to continue checking off their love for La La Land, which will mean good things for Swedish cinematographer Linus Sandgren in the category dominated the last three years in a row by Emmanuel Lubezki.

The Winner: La La Land

BEST COSTUME DESIGN

Lionsgate

This is one of the toughest to judge as there seems to be no obvious period nominee to choose. These are all evenly matched. The question for La La Land here is does it seem too contemporary? That’s usually a drawback when the Academy looks at the word “costume,” and in fact this award last went to a non-period piece back in 1994. That might favor period nominees Allied, Florence Foster Jenkins or Jackie. The fantasy duds of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them are another way to go. I see a split could possibly happen, meaning the La La fans could win again by default, for Mary Zophres’ technicolored stylings that are the perfect complement to the film’s production design and cinematography. But tradition will likely prevail, and I can’t decide which of the other four nominees will benefit. Jackie won at BAFTA but not the Costume Designers Guild, where La La did take a prize in their contemporary category. When in doubt go with a sweep. Or not.

The Winner:La La Land

Lionsgate

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN

Again, La La Land’s more subtle, contemporary production design from David Wasco and Susan Reynolds-Wasco doesn’t look “weighty” enough side by side with more epic efforts like Arrival, Fantastic Beasts And Where to Find Them, Hail, Caesar! and Passengers, with Arrival the most likely to benefit if there is a feeling this is a place not to vote for La La Land. Oddly, Hail, Caesar! celebrates the kind of movies that inspired La La Land, so it would be ironic if that took it. It likely won’t, and here is where Arrival could triumph unless, like me, you are aiming to predict a near clean sweep and take your lumps if you are completely wrong.

The Winner:La La Land

BEST FILM EDITING

Lionsgate

Often, but not always, the winner of Editing is also the winner of Best Picture, but it isn’t a golden rule. Hell Or High Water and Moonlight (which has, among its nominees, Joi McMillon, the first African-American woman nominated in this category) are worthy entries, but not likely winners here. It comes down to Arrival, Hacksaw Ridge, and you guessed it, La La Land. La La and Arrival were winners with the editors themselves at the ACE Eddie Awards, which divide it up between Comedy/Musical and Drama. Hacksaw won at BAFTA and is the kind of find that would seem to impress immensely in this area, so I expect a split between that and Arrival, leaving the door open for Tom Cross, already a winner here for Whiplash two years ago, to again ride the wings of Chazelle to victory with the expertly assembled La La Land.

The Winner:La La Land

BEST MAKEUP AND HAIR STYLING

This is a tough one. The Swedish makeup wizards behind the transformation of A Man Called Ove, Eva von Bahr and Love Larson, were actually surprise nominees last year as well, with the little seen The 100 Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out The Window. Clearly, they know how to impress their colleagues, but the Academy at large probably will go for less subtle work in either Star Trek Beyond or Suicide Squad.I can’t decide between either one though, so I am climbing out the window and going out on a limb for the Swedes although I admit this is a long shot.

The Winner:A Man Called Ove

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE

Yes, this would seem to be a slam dunk for La La Land, even if you aren’t a fan. Most voters outside of the music branch will assume they are voting for all those songs as well here, but this category is strictly for the musical score, not the songs. Justin Hurwitz’s score is deserving on that front, too, and is a clear front-runner over Jackie, Lion, Moonlight and 14-time nominee and branch fave Thomas Newman with Passengers. Newman will have to wait until No. 15.

The Winner:La La Land

Lionsgate

BEST ORIGINAL SONG

With two nominations for “Audition” and “City Of Stars,” La La Land’s songwriters Justin Hurwitz, Benj Pasek and Justin Paul could cancel themselves out, leaving room for megastar Lin-Manuel Miranda’s “How Far I’ll Go” from Moana, or tireless campaigner Justin Timberlake’s catchy Grammy-winning smash hit “Can’t Stop The Feeling!” from Trolls. I see little chance here for Sting and J. Ralph’s “The Empty Chair” from the HBO docu Jim: The James Foley Story, even though Sting is popular guy and this is his fourth nomination. Lionsgate is strategically and subtly pushing the haunting notes of Golden Globe winner “City Of Stars” in all its ads, so it likely will have little problem beating its stablemate and the rest of the field.

The Winner:“City Of Stars,” La La Land

BEST SOUND EDITING

Lionsgate

Both sound categories are often confused by voters, who tend to pick the loudest, a musical, or just a favorite film. Since everyone votes, I would expect that lesser nominated entries here like Deepwater Horizon and Sully are at the back of the pack, again setting up a three-way between Hacksaw Ridge, Arrival and La La Land. Hacksaw is in the war genre, which is extremely popular in the sound categories, so it might have an advantage. The more subtle, but haunting, sound editing of Arrival could as well. If they split, La La couldsweep by both.

The Winner:Hacksaw Ridge

Lionsgate

BEST SOUND MIXING

This is the more likely category for the musical to prevail, as past winners like Chicago and Dreamgirls have proven. Again, war films are very big here, and in addition to Hacksaw Ridge, there was a surprise bid for Michael Bay’s January release 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers Of Benghazi. And, of course, we can’t forget Star Wars, and in this case, Rogue One. BAFTA winner Arrival is also contending, but La La Land probably has this one if Hacksaw, representing notoriously Oscar-jinxed Kevin O’Connell’s 21st nomination without a win, doesn’t steal it.

The Winner:La La Land

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

Walt Disney Studios

Sure, the usual big blockbuster movies like Doctor Strange, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and Deepwater Horizon are in the mix, but this category has been getting a lot more interesting in recent years. Consider Ex Machina’s surprise triumph over the big guys last year. This time around, Kubo And The Two Strings is the first animated film to make the grade since Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas. It’s not likely to win, though. BAFTA and VES winner and astounding visual effects achievement The Jungle Book should sail easily to victory.

The Winner:The Jungle Book

ESPN

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

Fire At Sea is a demanding film, but a timely story touching on immigrants. And Life, Animated is a wondrous tale of the effect of Disney movies on a young man with autism. But the category is otherwise dominated by films dealing with the black experience in America. I Am Not Your Negro explores the life and times of James Baldwin. 13th is Ava DuVernay’s piercing and perceptive look into the incarceration of African-American men and how it compares to a new form of slavery. O.J.: Made In America is Ezra Edelman’s exhaustive 7 1/2-hour doc about the effect of the entire O.J. Simpson case. There is controversy over the latter, which was bought at Sundance but debuted as a miniseries on ABC and ESPN, still qualifying for Oscars by staging nominal theatrical runs. Its sheer length then could give it the advantage — and probably will, based on its awards heat this season. But 13th would be every bit as worthy, won at BAFTA, had a big Netflix ad spend and is a lot shorter. Still…

The Winner: O.J.: Made In America

BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT

Netflix

This is a fine group of nominees with two entries from Netflix, including TheWhite Helmets, which is one of three films in the category dealing with the refugee and immigration crisis. The White Helmets deals with first responders in Aleppo; 4.1 Miles comes out of UC Berkeley and deals with a Greek boat captain rescuing refugees on a daily basis; and Watani: My Homeland chronicles a family’s journey from Aleppo to Germany. The other entries include another Netflix pick, Extremis, about a palliative doctor dealing with end of life decisions, and Joe’s Violin, about the relationship between a holocaust survivor and the 12-year-old girl who receives his violin.

The Winner:The White Helmets — but it is a toss-up.

BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT

Six-time nominee and two-time winner Kim Magnusson teams with Aske Bang for Silent Nights, the category’s most movie-like entry, which deals with the relationship between a Danish girl and her North African immigrant boyfriend. You can’t argue with Magnusson’s Oscar track record in this almost exclusively foreign language category, where the hot-button topic of immigration is also dealt with in the intense Ennemis interieurs. La femme et le TGV stars the irresistible Jane Birkin and is a wonderfully filmed true story about a lady and her train. Sing deals with a choir finding its collective voice, and Timecode is a touching Spanish tale of loneliness and the need for companionship. Sing with its cast of kids feels like a real possibility, but I fell head over heels for that train lady so sue me.

The Winner:La Femme et le TGV

BEST ANIMATED SHORT

Jason Deamer / Pixar

Well, whenever Pixar has a contender, the others should just watch out, but actually they haven’t won here since 2001, with eight nominations in the intervening years. Piper, a coming-of-age story about a little sandpiper, is just the ticket this time around. Blind Vaysha is about a girl who can see the past with one eye, the future with the other, but not the present. Borrowed Time is about a sheriff in the Old West revisiting his youth. Pearl comes from Oscar winner Patrick Osborne (the wonderful Feast) and deals with a father and daughter and an old car that serves as their home. Pear Cider and Cigarettes is a very adult, very true, and — at 35 minutes — very long tale of a guy visiting his wild friend as he awaits a liver transplant. So maybe it’s time for Pixar again?